An Assessment of the Use of mobile phones as sources of Agricultural information by tobacco Smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the use of mobile phones as sources of agricultural information by smallholder tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe. The study’s findings inform the policy makers by providing deeper insights which may be useful to both national and international initiatives aimed at mobile phones for development (M4D). The study provides greater nuances to the people into the understanding of the implications of mobile communication technologies to assist in the achievement of development initiatives. A survey approach was used in conducting this research, in which questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were the data collection tools. A sample of 175 smallholder tobacco farmers from Hurungwe District in Mashonaland West province (Zimbabwe) was selected for data collection, along with 4 agricultural experts for conducting focus group discussions. The research bases on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model; consequently, a positivist research philosophy was adopted for this research. A mixed method (triangulation) was used. The results show that 85.51 % of smallholder tobacco farmers use their mobile phones to access agricultural information. Some of the major highlights are that there is no relationship between farmers’ use of mobile phones in agriculture and their socio-economic characteristics. The findings also confirm that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions have positive influences on the Behavioural Intention (BI) of Zimbabwean farmers to use mobile phones as sources of agricultural information.